We were so excited about stayed at Riad dar Justo. Unfortunately, from almost the moment we arrived, we had our expectations shattered. We were led to the hotel by a local man who said he was employed by them to meet us and when we arrived it turned out he wasn't and wanted money. Fair enough - it's Morocco after all and we expected that kind of thing - but as we argued with the man that we only had a very small amount of money on us and tried to explain to the hotel reception staff what had happened, they just stood there saying "give him more money". No attempt to intervene or help at all.

To be fair, the riad is very clean and well maintained but there was no information in our room at all - nothing about what time breakfast or dinner was, nothing about how to use the safe, nothing about the facilities, nothing about breakfast - nothing at all. We asked at reception but with the exception of one lady, no one speaks a word of English, which made the stay very difficult.

The room was nice but very hot and dark. No external ventilation at all and the only window was the glass door, which meant a choice between no privacy or no light (there was a large wood shutter). There was a fan (we'd be advised it was air conditioned) but at night particularly the heat was almost unbearable.

Breakfast was very basic - just bread and jam. We tried to find out what was on the menu for dinner but as no one spoke English no one could tell us! It wasn't displayed anywhere. We chanced it and had a basic mean of salad, tagine and fruit. The tagine was very nice but the coffee never arrived and when we checked out we found we had been charged extra for a glass of beer and wine, even though we were led to believe this was included. Also, we were the only people in the entire hotel eating, which was a bit strange (although after the meal we worked out why!)

On the final day, we were leaving at 8am and had been told by the hotel breakfast would be served at 7.30. 7.30 came and went and we were told by the night porter (who was the only living soul we could find) that breakfast wouldn't be ready until 8.30, so we had to leave without anything to eat or drink, although we were charged for breakfast on that day! As no one can speak English, there was no point trying to argue the point. There was some confusion when we left over the taxi and again the hotel were no help at all. When a receptionist finally arrived she got someone on the phone who managed to say "Your taxi is not our hotel's problem" before hanging up.

We only stayed two nights (thankfully) and it's such a shame as it is a tranquil escape from the hustle and bustle of Marrakech but the service was absolutely atrocious. If you're looking for a very hot room with no light and nothing else then great but if you don't speak French or if you're expecting anything remotely resembling service, steer well clear!

Incidentally, we booked through the UK company BEST OF MOROCCO, who's customer service almost equalled Dar Justo in terms of breathtaking incompetence! Give them a miss too!!